Yukun lost 2-3 to Harbour, and VAR is everywhere

Reporter Zuo Ruiyuxi reports Amid the shouts of more than 22,000 fans, Yunnan Yukun lost 2-3 to defending champions Shanghai Port. The protagonists of the game are not Leonardo, who scored two goals alone, not Kuai Jiwen, who made his Super League debut, or even Sun Xuelong, the first Yunnan player to score a goal in the Chinese Super League, but Anderson off the field and the video assistant referee on the sidelines - both are everywhere in this game.

Due to the 8th round of the league's away match with Changchun Yatai, Yunnan Yukun's violations of rules and disciplines, the Chinese Football Federation issued an official announcement saying that the club was fined 100,000 yuan for "failing to complete the official game process within the specified time, delaying news interviews and delaying kick-off in the second half"; Head coach Anderson was fined 30,000 yuan and banned from entering the stadium for three games for "misconduct against match officials".

The penalty decision was announced at noon the day before Yukun's home match against Haigang, and at the pre-match press conference that afternoon, assistant coach Chang Wei, who was present in place of Anderson, said that the team would play the game against Shanghai Port "in accordance with the technical and tactical requirements arranged by the head coach". The 43-year-old Chang Wei once served as a striker of Yunnan Hongta during the A-A period, and has been the assistant coach of Yukun since the 2022 Central B season, during which he also had the experience of "substitute appearance" in press conferences.

Captain Cho Woo Ho, who was in attendance with the assistant coach, focused on the game, emphasizing the challenge and excitement of the home team and the defending champions. In response to questions from the media, he admitted that the manager's absence "could make a little difference", but the whole team was ready for it.

The club did not know about this weighty fine in advance and did not make a defense afterwards. It can also be seen from the public statements of the coaches and players that Yukun not only accepted the punishment, but also took immediate action to deal with the situation. The reason why the "ban on entering the three venues" has aroused heated discussions may be related to the rigorous way of writing the announcement and the lack of details.In this regard, the information verified by the reporter through other channels shows that it is a fact that the opening of the second half was delayed by more than 5 minutes; As the first person responsible for the team, Anderson's first reaction was to fight back with words in the face of the urging of the game officials.

Judging from the starting list of this round, the remote control commander did not show the intention of showing weakness and strategic retention in the face of strength: Enrique, the offensive fulcrum of the previous 8 rounds of full attendance, was on standby as an alternate, and Han Zilong and Oscar served as pioneers; Attacking playmaker Yonicha is injured and not included in the list, Zhao Yuhao, Ye Chugui, Hou Yongyong, and Nene are the strongest midfield combinations that Anderson can send; On the back line, Zhang Chenliang replaced the injured Martinez and partnered with central defender Yi Teng for the first time, and Xu Hongjie and Dili Murati served as left and right fullbacks respectively.

Although the visiting team's star Wu Lei and top scorer Gustavo were both on the bench, the four Brazilian foreign players played the third line, and the harbor was still a proud team. However, the visitors' most eye-catching starter was Kuai Jiwen, the 19-year-old national youth striker who ushered in the first Chinese Super League game of his career.

After the opening, the home team saw a rare corner kick opportunity, and the front field throw-in often used a vigorous way to throw it into the penalty area. When the opponent is in possession, the home team's formation is closer to 451, that is, there is only one attacking point left in the frontcourt.

In the 15th minute, Oscar crossed from the side, and after Han Zilong missed the first point, Hou Yongyong scored the ball. Just as the home fans were ecstatic, VAR ruled that Oscar had been in an offside position when he passed the ball and the goal was invalidated. Just two minutes later, the visitors stabbed the ball and Leonardo scored from the spot.

In the 22nd minute, Oscar scored with a solo shot, and after another celebration, he was intervened by the video assistant referee - again offside. After that, Yukun was still full of energy, and created a number of attacks through front-court pressure, among which Han Zilong hit the ball high from close range in the 34th minute.

In the second half, Han Zilong instigated an attack on the left side, and missed more outflanks in front of the goal. After the throw-in attack, Ye Chugui's long-range shot hit high again. One minute later, Li Xinxiang, who replaced Kuai Jiwen, launched an attack on the right side, and Gabriel showed more superb shooting skills than the home team's players, hitting the ball into the unsolvable corner.

In the 61st minute, the two-goal lead Harbor replaced Xu Xin with Wu Lei. Immediately afterwards, the home team Enrique and Zhang Yufeng came on the field. Anderson's decision quickly paid off: in the 68th minute, Xu Hongjie took the ball from the back, and Oscar assisted Enrique to score a solo goal. 1 to 2, the scene suddenly fell into madness. But it didn't take long for Leonardo to add another and score his second goal.

After 17 rounds of polishing in the Chinese League and 8 rounds of the Chinese Super League, Anderson's team style has basically taken shape, that is, no matter what opponent he faces, he will never miss the opportunity to win and get points - no matter home or away, no matter how many soldiers are available, he will definitely fight hard. As Zhao Yuhao said: "Our technical and tactical arrangements are accumulated over time in ordinary training, and they have been deeply rooted. ”

In the 75th minute, Yi Teng's header hit the crossbar. In the 79th minute, Luo Jing replaced Han Zilong, and Yang He replaced the injured Zhang Chenliang - although the position was adjusted, due to the sufficient fitness of the substitute players, the home team began a comprehensive counterattack. In the 85th minute, the home team hit the goal again with a close-range header, and Yan Jun Ling Shen made a save. At the beginning of the eight minutes of stoppage time, Enrique crossed from the left and Sun Xuelong, who came on as a substitute, scored with a header. Then came a lengthy VAR intervention – this time it worked.

2 to 3! Although time was running out, fierce battles continued until the very end. After the game, Harbour coach Muscat admitted that Yukun was a "difficult opponent" and that they had developed a unique tactical style of play after two seasons of running-in. Chang Wei, who attended the post-match press conference in place of Anderson, said that the performance of all the players was very good and played very well. Regarding the first trial run of "on-field and off-field interaction" between the coaching staff and the head coach, Chang Wei said that judging from the performance of the players on the field, they "implemented the manager's technical and tactical deployment well", and the team will summarize and improve the problem of low offensive efficiency.